"Why can't a person from the Yadav community become the prime minister of the country," Gaur, a BJP leader from Yadav community and former chief minister, said while addressing a programme organised by the Yadav Mahasabha.

20:49Taliban want Islamic system of governance in Pakistan: An Islamic system of governance, introduction of Shariah law and release of jailed militants are part of a 15-point agenda finalised by the Taliban for peace talks with the Pakistan government, according to media reports today.

The Taliban 'Shura' or council, which has been meeting in the restive northwest under its deputy chief Sheikh Khalid Haqqani, also demanded the withdrawal of the army from tribal areas, said a report on the website of the Dawn daily.

20:48DLF sells Amanresorts for $358 million: Realty firm DLF today announced the sale of its luxury hospitality chain Amanresorts to its original founder Adrian Zecha for $358 million (about Rs 2,200 crore), a development that would help the company trim net debt and exit from non-core businesses.

In December 2012, DLF had signed a pact with Indonesian hotelier Zecha to sell Amanresorts for $300 million (about Rs 1,600 crore). However, the deal was not completed in the stipulated time-frame of June 2013, forcing DLF to walk out of the exclusivity pact.

Gandhi, at a public meeting in Cuttack district, targeted the ruling BJD, and dubbed it as "corrupt".

20:17'Snowden used inexpensive software to access secret files' : US whistleblower Edward Snowden, who honed his hacking skills in India, used inexpensive and widely available software to "scrape" the National Security Agency's networks, according to American intelligence officials probing his high-profile case.

Using "web crawler" software designed to search, index and back up a website, 30-year-old Snowden "scraped data out of our systems" while he went about his day job, The New York Times quoted a senior intelligence official as saying.

"We do not believe this was an individual sitting at a machine and downloading this much material in sequence," the official said.

20:16Badal lying on Operation Bluestar, PCC chief: Rubbishing Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's claim that he was in jail at the time of Operation Bluestar, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today said "either he has lost his memory or is deliberately lying to mislead people".

Amarinder said he would be releasing documents in due course of time to establish that Badal was "very much a free man before and after Operation Bluestar and was arrested much later".

In a statement, the former chief minister dared Badal to prove him wrong on this point.

In his first major rally in the state, Modi sought to know why the youth of the state were migrating in search of jobs. He held the Congress and the Left Front responsible for the rising unemployment.

19:43Left Front's Kolkata rally a failure: Trinamool: The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal described the Left's Brigade Parade Ground rally today as a show devoid of any principle or ideal which could give a new direction to the state.

"The rally had neither any principle nor an ideal. It fails to give any direction or message to the people of the state. The defeat will continue to haunt them," TMC All-India general secretary Mukul Roy told reporters.

Criticising former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's attack against their government, Roy wondered how the Marxist leader could have failed to see any change or development in the state.

19:42CBI to seek nod for sanction of IB officials in Ishrat case : With the Attorney General throwing a spanner in its works, the CBI will soon approach the government, seeking sanction for prosecution against four Intelligence Bureau officials, including its former Special Director Rajinder Kumar, in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.

"We have received the opinion of the Attorney General (GE Vahanvati). Now we will approach the cadre controlling authority seeking sanction for prosecution of the IB officials," said CBI Director Ranjit Sinha.

19:41Bihar: Fire in Valmiki Nagar Tiger Reserve: A fire broke out today in Valmiki Nagar Tiger Reserve in West Champaran district, destroying forest spread over two acres, but there was no report of casualty of any wild animal.

Divisional Forest Officer Nand Kishor told PTI the fire broke out in Madanpur forest range of the reserve due to unspecified reason.

"Currently, consultations and other preparatory works are going on. We are yet to decide on finalising the dates," he told reporters.

18:28Bangladesh war crimes accused Jammat leader dies: AKM Yusuf, one of the top leaders of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami who was charged with crimes against humanity committed during Bangladesh's 1971 liberation war against Pakistan, died in Dhaka today.

Addressing a massive rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, Karat said in Modi's Gujarat, only big business had progressed, not the general people.

Claiming that only a Left-led secular alternative can provide the right type of governance which could benefit the masses, he said anti-Congress and anti-BJP secular parties would present alternative policies after the present session of Parliament gets over.

Blogging after a gap of one-and-a-half months, Advani, 86, recalled his association with the RSS, which he joined as a fourteen-and-a-half-year-old in Karachi, and said, "It has given meaning to my life."

"I found meaning when I left my home and family to work as a pracharak of the RSS, first in Karachi and later, after being uprooted by Partition, in Rajasthan," he said.

18:24Rahul knows nothing about Odisha: BJD : Stung by Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the Odisha government, the ruling BJD today said the Congress vice president knew nothing about the state and he was only mouthing the words of his party leaders.

"He (Rahul Gandhi) does not know anything about the history, geography and economics of the state (Odisha)," BJD vice president and state Health Minister Damodar Rout said.

Gandhi was merely speaking the words of Congress leaders who were rejected by the people, he added.

"We suggest Rahul Gandhi to consult Montek Singh Ahluwalia and the (Union) finance ministry for knowledge on the economic situation of Odisha before making any remark on the state's development," he said.

17:56Indian diplomat met prisoners in Pakistani jail: Close on the heels of the mysterious death of an Indian fisherman, an Indian diplomat has visited prisoners, most of them fishermen, held in a jail in Karachi to gain first-hand knowledge about their condition, sources said today.

Though what the prisoners told the diplomat was not immediately known, sources said the recent death of the Indian fisherman figured in the interactions.

The prisoners at Landhi jail were given a box of sweets and basic amenities like soap, detergent and toothpaste, they said.

The gun-battle took place during a combing operation in the Badekakler forest under Farsegarh police station limits on Friday evening, Bijapur Deputy Superintendent of Police Sukhnandan Rathore told PTI.

A joint team of Chhattisgarh police and Maharashtra police was carrying out the combing operation in the Farsegarh region on the inter-state border, around 450 km from Raipur, when the Naxals attacked, he said

17:53Anna Hazare praises Mamata for her simplicity : Anna Hazare has lauded West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her simplicity while taking a jibe at AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, saying some people take bunglows despite promising not to do so.

Banerjee wears slippers even after she became the CM but some people opt for bungalows forgetting their earlier pledged, he said in an apparent reference to Kejriwal.

Asked if Banerjee is a good prime ministerial candidate, Hazare evaded a direct reply, noting, "I did not say that. I had written a letter to all parties that if they are willing to accept a 17-point agenda, then they can let me know."

The BJP's PM candidate also promised to fulfill the promises made by the Congress in the 60 years of its rule.

"The government acts like only one family has done everything for India.Politicians are often accused of servicing their families. But I have not done anything for my family since coming to power," said Modi.

Modi also slammed the vote-bank politics allegedly practiced by the Congress, saying it turned various communities against each other.

17:12Congress has mastered the art of misusing CBI: Jaitley: The BJP today said that the truth about the political misuse of the CBI had now "slipped out" after the comment by CBI Director Ranjit Sinha -- that the UPA government would have been happy had Narendra Modi's aide Amit Shah been chargesheeted in the Ishrat Jahan case.

Although Sinha denied having made the remark, BJP leader Arun Jaitley stepped up the offensive against the Congress-led coalition and said that the government had, in its decade-long rule, "mastered the art of manipulating" CBI.

"Yesterday, a statement by the CBI director was published. The truth slipped out.The denial of the CBI director that he made the statement is immaterial," he said.

17:11Home ministry likely to consider Kejriwal's request: The Union home ministry is likely to consider Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's request for the withdrawal of a 12-year-old order that makes it mandatory for all bills to be sent to the Centre before being tabled in the Delhi Assembly.

Officials said that the 2002 order to the Delhi government cannot be rescinded without legal consultations and the home ministry may refer the matter to the law ministry for its opinion.

Since this order was not passed by the present government, the legal antecedents of the order have to be, therefore, verified before taking any decision on it, the officials said.

16:22FDA chief to visit India soon: The Commissioner of America's Food and Drug Administration Dr Margaret Hamburg will undertake an eight-day trip to India soon to meet with prominent people from the government and the pharmaceutical industry.

The FDA is seeking to intensify its presence in India, which is the largest overseas manufacturer of drugs used in the US.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has claimed that these signals emanate from mobile phone towers in India and Afghanistan located close to the border.

The PTA has written to the interior ministry and law enforcement agencies to take up the matter with their counterparts in India and Afghanistan.

16:00Italy slams India's move to invoke anti-piracy law on marines : Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino has said India's move to try two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fisherman under an anti-piracy act has left her "dumbfounded and outraged", saying Rome will challenge it in the "strongest terms."

"Certain indications that come from New Delhi about the legal proceedings against our marines leave me dumbfounded and outraged," Bonino said.

"Our commitment to bring home Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone is stronger than ever," she was quoted as saying in the Italian media.

15:54Read Arvind Kejriwal's letter to Delhi Lt Gen Najib Jung:
In a public letter to Najib Jung, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has expressed his surprise over the Delhi Lieutenant Governor seeking the opinion of the Solicitor General on whether the Jan Lokpal Bill is constitutional.

Kejriwal also urged the Lt Guv to not stall the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill despite immense pressure from the Union home ministry and the ruling Congress.

15:52China stakes bid for 2022 Winter Olympics : Beijing has staked its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, which if selected will earn the Chinese capital the distinction of being the first city to organise both summer and winter versions of the Games.

The bid by the 2008 Summer Olympics host was formally announced by Chinese officials at Sochi in Russia, where the Winter Games are being held this year.

Beijing, along with Zhangjiakou in north western Hebei province, is vying with several other European cities to host the Winter Games, according to the plan outlined by the officials.

15:43Modi has staged 'fake encounter' with facts: Chidambaram : Finance Minister P Chidambaram today hit back at Narendra Modi for his "recount" dig at him, saying the Gujarat chief minister has once again staged a "fake encounter" with facts on the issue and that there was never a recount in the 2009 Lok Sabha election in his constituency Sivaganga.

In a statement, he said Modi has once again staged a "fake encounter" with facts at his public meeting near Chennai when he referred to him as "recount minister".

"The fact is that in the 2009 election from Sivaganga Parliamentary constituency the votes were counted only once.There was no recount. In fact, the complaint of the defeated candidate is that his belated request for recount was rejected by the Returning Office," said the finance minister.

14:41China dismisses US claim on disputed South China Sea : China today rejected America's criticism of its claims over the disputed South China Sea, saying they were based on "history and protected by international law", and asked Washington to play a constructive role in promoting peace in the region.

"China's maritime rights in the South China Sea are formed by history and protected by the international law," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said, refuting US assertions that Beijing's claims were inconsistent with international law.

Noting that some US officials' remarks in Congressional testimony are not constructive, Hong urged the US to take a rational and fair attitude towards the issue, and play a constructive role to promote peace and stability in the region.

"When I went to Ahmedabad, I met Modi. I didn't meet anyone from China or Pakistan," said Pawar.

14:13B'desh garment factory fire: Owners surrender, sent to jail: A fugitive couple, who owned a garment factory where 112 workers were charred to death two years ago, today surrendered before a court in Dhala which rejected their bail petition and sent them to jail in the deadliest industrial fire case in Bangladesh.

The court passed the order, nearly three hours after Tazreen Fashions Managing Director Delwar Hossain and and his wife Mahmuda Akter, who is also the chairperson, surrendered before it, seeking bail in the case.

Their surrender came as a lower court declared them fugitive and issued an arrest warrant in December.

He claimed that the ruling BJD government had failed to provide employment to the people of Odisha which, in his opinion, was the "richest state in India".

The funds meant for mid-day meals for school children have been stolen by the state government, claimed Gandhi.

13:02If discoms violate terms, then they better go: Kejriwal : Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has assured Delhiites that they would not have to live without electricity, although he did ask the people to be ready for "some difficulties" in case power distribution companies continued with their "blackmailing" tactics.

Amid the continuing standoff between the AAP government and Anil Ambani's BSES discoms, which are pressing for a hike in power tariffs, Kejriwal said that he had no personal issue with either Ambani or the Tatas, who run another discom in the capital.

13:00Indian-Americans should be politically more active: Keshkari : Running for California Governor election with the promise of creating jobs and providing good education, Neel Tushar Keshkari feels it is time that Indian Americans, who have made their presence felt in almost in every sphere, should be more active politically as well.

The 40-year-old Republican, son of Indian immigrants from Jammu and Kashmir, is likely to face incumbent Jerry Brown, who is yet to declare his candidature for re-election scheduled to be held later this year.

Keshkari, the architect of the US' bank bailout at the height of the 2008 recession, said the Indian-American community has made its presence felt in every sphere of life.

As soon as the Nehru-Gandhi scion arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport, he was received by State Congress leaders including OPCC President Jaydev Jena and AICC General Secretary B K Hariprasad.

Followed by nearly a dozen of cars, Rahul's cavalcade passed through Sishu Bhavan Chhak, Rajmahal Chhak, CuttackRoad, Rasulgarh Chhak before leaving the precincts of the state capital.

12:43What happens when relief camps shut down?: Those who lose their homes to communal riots --- whether they are in Assam's Kokrajhar or Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar -- have similar stories to share. Of displacement, loss, anxiety and insecurity.

"We are seeing lower prices due to abundant supplies but stronger upturn in demand, such as an increase in the pace of imports from Asia, could limit the decline," said FAO economist Abdolreza Abbassian.

These works, carried out by Central and Delhi government agencies including Public Works Department, New Delhi Municipal Council, Central Public Works Department and Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, were at different stages of investigation, official sources said.

At least 37 government departments have spent over Rs 13,000 crore in 9,000 publicly-funded CWG-related projects.

11:46Curfew-like restrictions imposed in Kashmir: Curfew-like restrictions were imposed today in most parts of Kashmir Valley to foil separatists' plans to hold protests to observe the first death anniversary of Parliament-attack convict Afzal Guru.

Barring Handwara in north Kashmir, all major towns in the Valley have been put under security restrictions, with heavy deployment of CRPF and police personnel aimed at thwarting any protests, official sources said.

Section 144 of CrPC, which bans assembly of four or more persons, has been imposed in several districts, including Srinagar, sources said, adding that the situation has so far been peaceful.

11:45Sikkim achieves 100 per cent sanitation: Sikkim has become the only state in the country to achieve more than 100 per cent sanitation in rural and urban households, schools, sanitary complexes and Aanganwadi centres.

All 6,10,577 inhabitants in Sikkim have latrines with high sanitation and hygiene standards.

The Himalayan state has constructed 98,043 individual household latrines against the target of 87,014 till January, thus achieving 112.67 per cent target under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan scheme implemented by Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, an official release said.

Asserting that there was a "clear cut Modi wave", senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu today said the BJP will win more than 300 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as it has gained the confidence of the minorities and oppressed castes.

"There is a clear-cut Narendra Modi wave across the country. BJP will win more than 300 Lok Sabha seats. There is a tacit change among voters. Dalits, SC/STs and minorities have voted for the party in the state assembly elections last year," he said addressing BJP workers IN Bangalore.

Citing an example, Naidu said out of the 34 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes in Rajasthan, BJP won 20-odd assembly seats, clearly showing Dalit swing towards the party.

"Congress gave ten tickets to Muslim candidates in Rajasthan, but none of them could win a single seat. Whereas, BJP fielded four Muslim candidates and two won. This also shows the minority voters have voted for BJP," he said. This trend was also seen in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Delhi elections, Naidu added.

Speaking about the emergence of Third Front, Naidu said history showed the futility of such an alternative where there were far too many prime ministerial aspirants. "This is also seen even now. Deve Gowda, Nitish Kumar, Mamta Banerjee, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Jayalalitha, all want to be prime minister," he said.